Asked about nearing 1,000 assists in his career, Sakic deflected the attention away from himself and toward the other players he's skated with during his 19-year NHL career.

"We've had some great hockey players that have played in this organization," the Colorado Avalanche captain said Friday, prior to playing the Vancouver Canucks. "A lot of guys that could score goals. You get that, the points are going to come, especially with our style. We have always had a team that likes to play an up-tempo game."

Fair enough. But won't it be special to become only the 11th player in league history to reach 1,000 assists?

"We'll see when we get there I guess," Sakic said after a pause. "Not that many players have gotten to that. It would be a tremendous honour, obviously.

"I haven't thought too much about it."

From some players the false modestly would sound contrived. But from Sakic the words sound as honest as the work ethic he delivers each night.

Heading into the game against Vancouver the 38-year-old Sakic was second in Avalanche scoring with 16 points, including five goals. His 11 assists gave him 990 for his career.

The numbers made right-winger Ian Laperriere shake his head.

"It's not to shabby," said Laperriere. "He's effective out there, as dangerous as I've seen. If anyone wants to play until he's 45 or 50, I think Joe is the next best candidate. He has the work ethic and the skill to do so."

Sakic saw an eight-game point streak end when he was held off the scoresheet in the Avs 4-3 shootout win over Edmonton Wednesday. Earlier this season he collected his 1,600 career point, becoming just the eighth player in NHL history to reach that milestone.

"You'd think a guy with over 1,600 points has nothing to prove," said Laperriere. "It's in his head that if he wants to keep playing he needs to be on top of his game. By doing what he does extra, that's the way he's going to stick around."

Sakic's work ethic off the ice is legendary. He trains in the gym every day, spends time stretching before and after games.

His total dedication to the craft doesn't go unnoticed by young players like Paul Stastny, who finished second in rookie-of-the-year voting last season.

"He's one of the best players of all time," said Stastny, the son of Hall-of-Famer Peter Stastny. "He's still performing at his best.

"What ever he does on the ice or off the ice you watch. You try to learn from him and do the things he does to take of his body the way he does."

Stastny said Sakic is very approachable.

"Every time I have a question he'll answer right away," he said.

Sakic laughed when asked about the advice he's given Stastny.

"There's not much you have to say to Paul," he said. "Paul, you can tell, paid close attention to the way his dad played.

"Paul is a smart hockey player. Even last year when it was his rookie year, he got better as the year went on. There's not much you have to teach him."

When Ryan Smyth became a free agent last summer, Sakic was one of the first people to call him to encourage him to come to Denver. It was by assisting on Smyth's overtime goal in Calgary on Oct. 26 that Sakic recorded his 1,600th point.

Smyth spent years as an Edmonton Oiler battling against Sakic, so he now appreciates being in the same dressing room with him.

"It's how poised he is on and off the ice," said Smyth. "The way he deals with himself and how he handles the different kind of pressure that is put upon him.

"He's so easy going he makes the young guys feel good and the veterans feel good. That's a great leader to have."

Sakic has won two Stanley Cups and an Olympic gold medal. He was named the MVP of the playoffs when the Avs won their first Cup in 1996 and the league MVP in 2001.

He's used to winning, so missing the playoffs last year for the first time in 11 seasons was a bitter pill.

"It was very disappointing" said the Burnaby, B.C., native. "It's over. We are looking at a better year this year."

There's no doubt Sakic would love to add another Stanley Cup to his resume. Just how much longer he's willing to play to reach that goal remains to be seen.

Sakic grinned when told Laperriere thinks he could play to 50.

"No," Sakic said.

What about 49?

"We'll see," he said. "As long as you are feeling good and feel you can contribute, it's a great game and fun to be part of."

ANAHEIM — Scott Niedermayer skated for the second time as he continues to contemplate his future.

The 34-year-old star defenceman played a pickup game Thursday, the second time in a week he has skated. But he remains unsure whether he will return to the Anaheim Ducks.

"No decision has been made," Niedermayer told the Orange County Register in Friday's edition. "Really, there is no change in anything right now, other than the fact I'm skating. When the decision does come, if it is to go back and play, I'm a little bit closer."

Niedermayer told the newspaper he has gained some peace of mind since returning to Orange County in early September from his home in Cranbrook, B.C.
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"I'm pretty comfortable with where I'm at now, personally," Niedermayer said. "It's not an easy year, obviously, coming back after three months off and trying to defend a Stanley Cup championship. There are a lot of things that are going to go into this final decision. I'm comfortable with knowing what those things are now.

"There's no big story behind any of it. It's just little things, just private things for me as a member of a family, last year as a member of a hockey team. It's that simple."

He is currently suspended by the Ducks, a technicality that was necessary for the Ducks to save on his $6.75-million (U.S.) salary. He hopes to make up his mind once and for all by mid-December at the latest.

scott story was on the front page of our newspaper. I hope he is secretly getting his legs ready for some December hockey. Add Selanne, who hasnt left the OC area, and there is hope that this season can be a repeat. Now, only if we can win some shootouts this year. San Jose doesnt count as they are worse than the Ducks in that catagory.

“NHL Network today announced it has reached a one-year extension for broadcast rights to American Hockey League (AHL) games. The broadcast package provides NHL Network, in both Canada and the U.S., with 20 ‘Game of the Week’ match-ups, airing Thursdays at 7 p.m. ET throughout the remainder of the regular season.”

November 13, 2007 -- TORONTO - Sean Avery is preparing to file a libel charge against a Toronto radio personality who reported yesterday that Saturday's pregame skirmish between the Rangers' winger and the Maple Leafs' Darcy Tucker was incited by Avery referring to Jason Blake's cancer condition, The Post has learned.

Advised by his attorney to decline public comment, Avery has privately denied the charge as broadcast by Howard Berger over The Fan 590.

Berger cited an unnamed Rangers player as the original source of the report.

Tucker, who called Avery "classless" after the match, engaged in a first-period fight with the Rangers' antagonist, but that appeared to be no more than a renewal of the rivalry between the agitators, who also fought April 1 at the Garden.

No other Maple Leaf - including former Islander Blake, who continues to play after recently being diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia, and was among the dozen or so players from both teams surrounding the pregame scrum - challenged the winger in the game.

Maple Leafs coach Paul Maurice, who surely would have been aware of such comments had they actually been made, said after the game that he had no problem with Avery's pregame antics.

The Post has learned that Avery has been summoned for a hearing here today with NHL Executive VP Colin Campbell.

While Avery is likely to be fined and receive a warning from the league's disciplinary office, he is not expected to be suspended.

Gary Bettman will be doing his best Howard Stern impression as the Commish will be hosting his own live radio show on XM called "NHL Hour", to be co-hosted by the moustached one, Bill Clement. Starting Tuesday, November 27th, the show will run 4-5pm on the NHL Home Ice channel 204 and through the leagues website, NHL.com. Beginning December 6, the show will run every Thursday at the same time slot (which makes me think why they just didn't start on November 29th or on December 6th to begin with.

"The candid, interactive talk radio show will be hosted by a rotation of League executives, including Commissioner Bettman, Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, and Senior Executive VP of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell. The show will be co-hosted by XM sports host and former NHL player Bill Clement.

NHL Hour will provide fans with the latest news and events from the highest levels of the NHL. The show encourages fans to submit questions via phone and email. To submit questions to NHL Hour call 1-877-NHL-ON-XM (1-877-645-6696) or email homeice@xmradio.ca."

So there you have it fans, your chance to b**** about any NHL topic to the heads of the league. I actually love this idea for the fans to finally feel as if they have a voice to the higher-ups in the league. It's the first time the fans have direct access to a leagues upper management. My only worry is that it doesn't become an hour of NHL-fluff and that the league execs are asked tough questions. I can picture Colin Campbell telling a caller that he's a "hoser".

NEW YORK – NHL Network, the first national network dedicated entirely to hockey, has secured distribution through 18 more U.S. cable providers in addition to the seven largest distributors previously announced.

NHL Networknow will be accessible to 80 million homes based on all of the carriage arrangements, including those with Cablevision, Charter Communications, Comcast, Cox Communications, DIRECTV, DISH Network® and Time Warner Cable.

NHL Network, which launched in Canada in 2001, gives viewers unprecedented 24-hour access to the most comprehensive hockey coverage, on and off the ice. NHL Network will broadcast 50 live regular-season games in the U.S. this season, all in HD, in addition to its daily live signature show – NHL on the Fly - - classic games, documentaries, instructional shows, highlights and more.

The U.S. and Canadian versions of NHL Network have similar programming schedules. Initially, the major difference in the two channels is in live NHL game selections, with each channel focusing on games of greater interest to its fans. All live NHL games will be televised in high-definition on the full-time HD feed (all games subject to local blackout).

ok lets see if i got this right, a flyer does something that gets reviewed and is nailed to the cross, yet pronger starts a fight as the game ends, which is supposed to be an automatic game suspension, and gets nothing.

Anaheim defenceman Chris Pronger is not being suspended and Ducks' head coach Randy Carlyle is not being fined for Pronger instigating a fight with Los Angeles' Michal Handzus last night as the buzzer sounded at the end of overtime in the Ducks' 4-3 shootout win over the Kings.

NHL rules call for an automatic one-game suspension for the player and a $10,000 fine for the coach when an instigator is assessed with less than five minutes remaining in regulation time.

But the rule also allows for the NHL to "rescind" the penalties if the league doesn't believe the incident was pre-meditated by the player or orchestrated by the coach. The score of the game is often one of the biggest factors and, in this case, overtime had just ended and they were heading to a shootout.

And, in this instance, the league has rescinded the penalties so there will be no suspension to Pronger or fine to Carlyle.

Pronger became incensed when just as the game was ending, Handzus flipped what looked like a harmless wrist shot from the blueline towards Duck goalie Jean Sebastien Giguere, who used his blocker to deflect it to the corner. Pronger went after Handzus, a melee ensued and Pronger dropped the gloves and started pounding on Handzus.

ok lets see if i got this right, a flyer does something that gets reviewed and is nailed to the cross, yet pronger starts a fight as the game ends, which is supposed to be an automatic game suspension, and gets nothing.

Anaheim defenceman Chris Pronger is not being suspended and Ducks' head coach Randy Carlyle is not being fined for Pronger instigating a fight with Los Angeles' Michal Handzus last night as the buzzer sounded at the end of overtime in the Ducks' 4-3 shootout win over the Kings.

NHL rules call for an automatic one-game suspension for the player and a $10,000 fine for the coach when an instigator is assessed with less than five minutes remaining in regulation time.

But the rule also allows for the NHL to "rescind" the penalties if the league doesn't believe the incident was pre-meditated by the player or orchestrated by the coach. The score of the game is often one of the biggest factors and, in this case, overtime had just ended and they were heading to a shootout.

And, in this instance, the league has rescinded the penalties so there will be no suspension to Pronger or fine to Carlyle.

Pronger became incensed when just as the game was ending, Handzus flipped what looked like a harmless wrist shot from the blueline towards Duck goalie Jean Sebastien Giguere, who used his blocker to deflect it to the corner. Pronger went after Handzus, a melee ensued and Pronger dropped the gloves and started pounding on Handzus.

ok lets see if i got this right, a flyer does something that gets reviewed and is nailed to the cross, yet pronger starts a fight as the game ends, which is supposed to be an automatic game suspension, and gets nothing.

Anaheim defenceman Chris Pronger is not being suspended and Ducks' head coach Randy Carlyle is not being fined for Pronger instigating a fight with Los Angeles' Michal Handzus last night as the buzzer sounded at the end of overtime in the Ducks' 4-3 shootout win over the Kings.

NHL rules call for an automatic one-game suspension for the player and a $10,000 fine for the coach when an instigator is assessed with less than five minutes remaining in regulation time.

But the rule also allows for the NHL to "rescind" the penalties if the league doesn't believe the incident was pre-meditated by the player or orchestrated by the coach. The score of the game is often one of the biggest factors and, in this case, overtime had just ended and they were heading to a shootout.

And, in this instance, the league has rescinded the penalties so there will be no suspension to Pronger or fine to Carlyle.

Pronger became incensed when just as the game was ending, Handzus flipped what looked like a harmless wrist shot from the blueline towards Duck goalie Jean Sebastien Giguere, who used his blocker to deflect it to the corner. Pronger went after Handzus, a melee ensued and Pronger dropped the gloves and started pounding on Handzus.

Just a day earlier the league fined Gretzky and suspended Boynton for a similiar incident. I moved on from it already, I don't like Pronger and someday he'll get what is coming to him.

Peep the sig, good old fashioned Rob Blake hip check on Perry of the quacks.

Jack Johnson: ``I don't know why (Pronger) would do that. I just kind of laughed at him. There was no need to do that. He obviously knows Handzus isn't a fighter. He was just trying to beat the buzzer with a shot.''

NHL Central Scouting’s preliminary rankings for the 2008 Entry Draft are out and, as expected, Sarnia Sting forward Steven Stamkos heads the list of Ontario Hockey League prospects. Belarussian forward Mikhail Stefanovich of the Quebec Remparts heads the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League list, while power forward Kyle Beach is ranked as the Western Hockey League’s top skater.

Each of the three, Stamkos especially, is expected to be a huge part of whichever team is lucky enough to nab him at this summer’s Entry Draft in Ottawa. But while the top player from each league is a forward, the 2008 Entry Draft will likely be remembered as the year of the blue-chip defenseman.

Three of the top five skaters from the WHL and the OHL are defenSeimian, while two of the top five from the QMJHL man the point. In addition, the top-ranked skater from the Czech Republic, Denmark, Russia, Sweden, and Switzerland all patrol the blue line for their respective teams.
Central Scouting Preliminary Rankings

The European lists, sorted by country, were released as well and look to be wide open as far as the top skaters are concerned, though some scouts have mentioned Vyacheslav Voinov as the best prospect from across the pond. Voinov emerged as perhaps the lone bright spot on the Russian Super Series blue line this past summer, and proved he could handle the North American game as he was often matched head-to-head with the top Canadian line of Kyle Turris, John Tavares and David Perron. Voinov also quarterbacked the Russian power play, skated in a penalty killing role and generally ate up huge minutes for the Russian side. He boasts a heavy shot, grace under pressure and a bit of a mean streak – a trait that will aid him as he attempts to bring his game to the NHL.

Other names that have been popping up in the European discussions include fellow Russian Nikita Filatov (CSKA 2) and dynamic Swedish forward Mattias Tedenby. Tedenby was mentioned by one scout prior to the start of the 2007-08 season as being the runaway top forward in Europe, if not for his size; Tedenby is listed at 5-foot-11, 176 pounds while skating for his HV 71 Junior team in Sweden. But with the success of last season's first overall pick, Patrick Kane, early in 2007-08, some NHL scouts and GMs may begin re-thinking the use of size as an indicator in determining future NHL prospects. As a result, Tedenby’s stock just might see a generous boost with every two, three, and four-point performance put up by Kane is his first season in the NHL.

The big name on everyone’s list is still Stamkos, who looks to be the complete package of size, speed and smarts. In addition, a trio of OHL defenSeimian are garnering a lot of interest from NHL scouts -- Drew Doughty of the Guelph Storm, Zach Bogosian of the Peterborough Petes and Alex Pieterangelo of the Niagara IceDogs -- and any one of them could turn up as the first overall pick in 2008.

For the fourth time since 2002-03, a Staal will be gracing the lists of NHL scouts. Young Jared of the Sudbury Wolves checks in at 13th on the OHL list, but has been playing better and more confidently with each game. After scoring only twice in his first nine games, Staal has scored six goals in his last 10, and has added five assists for 11 points over that stretch. His play, coupled with an impressive pedigree, could propel him up the lists as the season progresses.

Regardless, the CSS list is out, and the discussions – and the arguments – are sure to follow.